History Franchise / Rocky

A series of six movies set around boxing's and UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}}'s favorite ([[CelebrityParadox fictitious]]) son, "The Italian Stallion", Rocky Balboa.

The idea for the first film was inspired when Creator/SylvesterStallone, then a down-on-his-luck-actor, went to see a UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli bout against Chuck Wepner. Wepner was a tough fighter with a lot of heart but little skill and a bad record, and he was most famous for frequently bleeding profusely during his bouts. The bout was intended to be a breather -- an exhibition for Ali after his unbelievable (and hard-fought) victory over George Foreman less than six months earlier -- but to the astonishment of all, Wepner managed to knock Ali down in the ninth round (video replays showed it was actually more of a trip; Wepner happened to be standing on Ali's foot when the blow landed, which caused Ali to lose his balance when he tried to move).

While Stallone has also discussed a seventh ''Rocky'' film, the success of the franchise also led to a SpinOff series focusing on Apollo Creed's son, Adonis Johnson (Creator/MichaelBJordan), who becomes a fighter against the wishes of his family, eventually seeking out Rocky (Stallone once again) to be his trainer. The first installment of the series, titled ''Film/{{Creed}}'', was released on November 25, 2015[[note]][[MeaningfulReleaseDate the 40th anniversary of the date of the opening scene in the first film]][[/note]] to great success, spawning a sequel, ''Film/CreedII'', which was released on November 21, 2018. A third installment, ''Film/CreedIII'', is slated for release on March 3, 2023. Creator/RyanCoogler co-wrote and directed the first ''Creed'' as well as co-wrote the story of ''Creed III'', which notably marks the directorial debut of Jordan (who Coogler had previously directed in ''Film/FruitvaleStation'').

** Apollo Creed = UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli (showmanship, charisma, outrageous nicknames, floaty style, and rivalry with the Frazier-equivalent) mixed with George Foreman (prolific patriotism most notably shown in a bout against a Soviet boxer,[[note]]Creed had his "Living in America" dance number before fighting Ivan Drago, Foreman held up an American flag and took a bow after beating Jonas Čepulis. Obviously things went a lot better for Foreman.[[/note]] reputation as an unstoppable wrecking ball, and high knockout power).[[note]]Going into his last fight of the 70s, Foreman was 46-1 with 43 knockouts. Going into his last fight in ''Rocky IV'', Apollo Creed was 47-1 with 46 knockouts.[[/note]] The real Ali even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3g7kclmm0I appeared on stage with Stallone at the Oscars]], and once said he wished he had thought of Creed's nickname, "The Master of Disaster". Though, ''Film/RockyBalboa'' reveals that Muhammad Ali and George Foreman actually existed in the ''Rocky'' universe and [[ExpyCoexistence fought in the same era as Apollo]]; which was implied in the first film as well, given it established Joe Frazier existed. Given that Apollo was introduced in the first film as the undisputed world champion with a 100% knockout record, [[CurbStompBattle well...]]]

While Stallone has also discussed a seventh ''Rocky'' film, the success of the franchise also led to a SpinOff series focusing on Apollo Creed's son, Adonis Johnson (Creator/MichaelBJordan), who becomes a fighter against the wishes of his family, eventually seeking out Rocky (Stallone once again) to be his trainer. The first installment of the series, titled ''Film/{{Creed}}'', was released on November 25, 2015[[note]][[MeaningfulReleaseDate the 40th anniversary of the date of the opening scene in the first film]][[/note]] to great success, spawning a sequel, ''Film/CreedII'', which was released on November 21, 2018. A third installment, ''Film/CreedIII'', is slated for release on March 3, 2023. Creator/RyanCoogler co-wrote and directed the first ''Creed'' as well as co-wrote the story of ''Creed III'', which notably marks the directorial debut of Jordan (who Jordan had previously directed in ''Film/FruitvaleStation'').

The films in the series are:

There were also a handful of video games that were made based on the series:

Although an incensed Ali made Wepner pay dearly for that -- and eventually knocked Wepner down and out for the only time in his career -- the roar of the crowd as an [[TheEveryman everyman]] knocked down the greatest athlete in his sport inspired Stallone, who went home and spent the next few days writing furiously nearly around the clock. The end result? '''''Rocky''''' was born. (Though that's slightly mythologized, too. When Stallone was asked how he managed to write the screenplay in three days, he replied "I didn't write the screenplay in three days, I wrote ''a'' screenplay in three days"; the shooting script was heavily workshopped.)

The franchise has also led to a SpinOff titled ''Film/{{Creed}}''. The film focuses on Apollo Creed's son, Adonis Johnson, who becomes a fighter against the wishes of his family, eventually seeking out Rocky (Stallone once again) to be his trainer. Ryan Coogler wrote and directed the film, and his ''Film/FruitvaleStation'' star Creator/MichaelBJordan plays Adonis. The film was released on November 25th, 2015 to great success and spawned a sequel, ''Film/CreedII''. A third ''Creed'' film is in production, while Stallone has also discussed a seventh ''Rocky'' film.

* ''Film/CreedIII'' (2022)

* AwesomeMcCoolName: Apollo Creed.
** Gotta give props to Adonis Creed as a badass name too.
** Creed might be the champ (again), but heck, the series' boxers are packed with cool names.

** ''Rocky V'' makes it clear that despite it being a effective strategy against his opponents, Rocky has gotten brain damage after years after taking constant blows to the head. The head can only take so much damage before eventually repercussions occur from all of it.

** In the first movie when the fight bout with Apollo begins, we see just how much of a difference there is in skill between Apollo and Rocky. Apollo's offense and defense is smooth and he switches back and forth between them very naturally while Rocky's is very sloppy and wild, so whenever they're not fighting at close quarters Apollo can pick Rocky apart due to the holes in Rocky's defense. At the end of the day Rocky (in the first movie at least) is just a low level boxer whose greatest attributes are his toughness, ability to take a punch, and determination, while Apollo is an undefeated heavyweight champion. Rocky never was expected to actually beat him and while Rocky ultimately goes the distance and even knocks down Apollo, Apollo still wins the fight via decision because he still out-boxed Rocky and controlled the fight whenever they were at a distance.

** In Rocky 2 despite making major bank from his match with Creed, it does not take long for Rocky to lose his money since he spends it recklessly - someone who has spent his whole life living hand to mouth is rarely equipped to know how to carefully manage money.
** In Rocky 3 as powerful as Clubber is, relying on just power punches will eventually become a disadvantage since it will wear you out quickly and when you go up against someone that can withstand it long enough, avoid you, or defend against it properly like Rocky did it won't be hard to beat him.
** Rocky 5 makes it clear that despite it being a effective strategy against his opponents, Rocky has gotten brain damage after years after taking constant blows to the head. The head can only take so much damage before eventually repercussions occur from all of it.
** Also in Rocky 5,Tommy gets arrested after his fight with Rocky. This is bound to happened since not only did he start the fight, Tommy attacked several civilians before and during his fight.
** In Rocky Balboa, despite being a highly regarded boxer, understandably a 60 year old Rocky Balboa deciding to fight again after at least 20 years is met with disbelief, disdain, and concern by pretty much everyone.

* AutobotsRockOut: "Going the Distance" from the first film, "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky III, and "War" from Rocky IV all count. "Going the Distance" mixes in OrchestralBombing, while "War" plays this trope [[UpToEleven bombastically straight]].

* ''VideoGame/RockyLegends'' on the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 2}} and UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}.

* SheCleansUpNicely: Adrian in the sequels, who goes from {{Meganekko}} to a more traditional beauty as the Balboas live the good life.

* {{Meganekko}}: Adrian, Rocky's love interest. Even after she loses the glasses and starts doing her hair, she retains the sweet shyness inherent in the character type.

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic ♫ Gonna Fly Now! ♫]]'']]

The idea for the first film was inspired when Creator/SylvesterStallone, then a down-on-his-luck-actor, went to see a UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli bout against Chuck Wepner. Wepner was a tough fighter with a lot of heart but little skill and a bad record, and he was most famous for frequently bleeding profusely during his bouts. The bout was intended to be a breather -- an exhibition for Ali after his unbelievable (and hardfought) victory over George Foreman less than six months earlier -- but to the astonishment of all, Wepner managed to knock Ali down in the ninth round (video replays showed it was actually more of a trip; Wepner happened to be standing on Ali's foot when the blow landed, which caused Ali to lose his balance when he tried to move).

* ''Rocky Legends'' on the UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation 2}} and UsefulNotes/{{Xbox}}.

-->'''Tony "Duke" Evers''':(To Apollo Creed) I saw you beat that man like I never saw no man get beat before and the man KEPT COMING AFTER YOU.

-->'''Rocky''' (to Mickey): "At least you ''had'' a prime! I never had no prime!"

--> '''Rocky''' (upon seeing Apollo's outfit for the first time): "He looks like a flag!"

-->''"We need '''''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis GREASY! FAST! SPEED!!!]]'''''"''

* ''Film/RockyIV'' (1985)[[note]]Spawned a [[ReCut Director's Cut in 2021, titled ''Rocky IV: Rocky vs. Drago''.[[/note]]

The franchise has also led to a SpinOff titled ''Film/{{Creed}}''. The film focuses on Apollo Creed's son, Adonis Johnson, who becomes a fighter against the wishes of his family, eventually seeking out Rocky (Stallone once again) to be his trainer. Ryan Coogler wrote and directed the film, and his ''Film/FruitvaleStation'' star Creator/MichaelBJordan plays Adonis. The film was released on November 25th, 2015 to great success and spawned a sequel, ''Film/CreedII''.

* ''Film/RockyIV'' (1985)

** Another for Rocky Balboa is that Rocky's training has to relay far more on power than any other attribute or technique since there is no way he can use speed at his age and previous injuries. Most especially not against the much younger Dixon.

* RealityEnsues:
** In the first movie when the fight bout with Apollo begins, we see just how much of a difference there is in skill between Apollo and Rocky. Apollo's offense and defense is smooth and he switches back and forth between them very naturally while Rocky's is very sloppy and wild, so whenever they're not fighting at close quarters Apollo can pick Rocky apart due to the holes in Rocky's defense. At the end of the day Rocky (in the first movie at least) is just a low level boxer whose greatest attributes are his toughness, ability to take a punch, and determination, while Apollo is an undefeated heavyweight champion. Rocky never was expected to actually beat him and while Rocky ultimately goes the distance and even knocks down Apollo, Apollo still wins the fight via decision because he still out-boxed Rocky and controlled the fight whenever they were at a distance.
** In Rocky 2 despite making major bank from his match with Creed, it does not take long for Rocky to lose his money since he spends it recklessly - someone who has spent his whole life living hand to mouth is rarely equipped to know how to carefully manage money.
** In Rocky 3 as powerful as Clubber is, relying on just power punches will eventually become a disadvantage since it will wear you out quickly and when you go up against someone that can withstand it long enough, avoid you, or defend against it properly like Rocky did it won't be hard to beat him.
** Rocky 5 makes it clear that despite it being a effective strategy against his opponents, Rocky has gotten brain damage after years after taking constant blows to the head. The head can only take so much damage before eventually repercussions occur from all of it.
** Also in Rocky 5,Tommy gets arrested after his fight with Rocky. This is bound to happened since not only did he start the fight, Tommy attacked several civilians before and during his fight.
** In Rocky Balboa, despite being a highly regarded boxer, understandably a 60 year old Rocky Balboa deciding to fight again after at least 20 years is met with disbelief, disdain, and concern by pretty much everyone.
** Another for Rocky Balboa is that Rocky's training has to relay far more on power than any other attribute or technique since there is no way he can use speed at his age and previous injuries. Most especially not against the much younger Dixon.

** Also in Rocky 5,Tommy gets arrested after his fight with Rocky. This is bound to happened since not only did he start the fight, Tommy attack several civilians before and during his fight.

** In Rocky 2 despite making major bank from his match with Creed, it does not take long for Rocky to lose his money since he spends it recklessly.

* RealityEnsues:In the first movie when the fight first begins Apollos offense and defense is smooth while Rocky's is very sloppy and wild. By the end of the day Rocky (in the first movie at least) is just a low level boxer while Apollo is a heavyweight champion. Rocky never was expected to actually beat him and while Rocky ultimately goes the distance and even knocks down Apollo, Apollo still wins the fight via decision because he still out out boxed and controlled the fight.
** In Rocky 2 despite making major bank from his match with Creed, it does not take long for Rocky to lose his money since he blows it off recklessly.
** In Rocky 3 as powerful as Clubber is, relaying on just power punches will eventually become a disadvantage since it will wear you out quickly and when you go up against someone that can withstand it long enough, like Rocky did it won't be hard to beat him.
** Rocky 5 makes it clear that despite it being a effective strategy against his opponents, Rocky has gain brain damage after years after taking constant blows to the head. The head can only take so much damage to the before eventually repercussions occur from all of it.

** In Rocky Balboa, despite being a highly regarded boxer, understandably a 60 year old Rocky Balboa deciding to fight again after at least 20 years is met with scuff by pretty much everyone.
** Another for Rocky Balboa is that Rocky's training has to relay far more on power since there is no way he can use speed at his age and previous injuries. Most especially not against the much younger Dixon.

** Rocky 5 makes it clear that despite it being a effective strategy against his opponent, Rocky has gain brain damage after years after taking constant blows to the head. The head can only take so much damage to the head before eventually repercussions occur from all of it.